Troy Graham

Troy Graham
Troy Graham
Birth name	Troy Rolland Thompson
Born	December 7, 1954; Memphis, Tennessee
Died	March 7, 2002
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Troy Graham; Dr. Troy Graham; Troy T. Tyler; Randy Tyler; The Dream Machine
Billed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Billed weight	252 lb (114 kg; 18.0 st)
Debut	October 1978
Retired	1990

Troy Rolland Thompson (December 7, 1954 – March 7, 2002), was an American professional wrestler known as Dream Machine and Troy Graham.

Career

Thompson was discovered by Jimmy Hart and first came in to wrestling as Troy "The Hippie" Graham. During his initial career, he fulfilled the role of a heel.

Wrestling as the masked "Dream Machine," Thompson captured the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship in 1981 after defeating Steve Keirn in the final bout of a one-night tournament. Promoter Eddie Marlin awarded the belt to Dream Machine and his manager Jimmy Hart during an episode of Championship Wrestling that aired soon after the tournament. Also in 1981, Thompson held the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship title while teamed with "Superstar" Bill Dundee. They were defeated by Kevin Sullivan and Wayne Farris during a televised match on May 2, 1981.^[1]

From 1982 to 1983, Thompson teamed with Porkchop Cash as The Bruise Brothers, as part of Hart's First Family stable. They defeated Dutch Mantell and Koko B. Ware for their first AWA Southern Tag Team Championship titles. They also went on to compete against the Rock and Roll Express, exchanging the Southern Tag Team Titles with them.

As the Dream Machine, Thompson (sans mask) was one-half of the tag team known as "The New York Dolls". The Dolls had a longstanding feud with the Fabulous Ones, Steve Keirn and Stan Lane.

In 1984 Troy Graham was replaced in the Bruise Brothers and left the Memphis territory.

Troy Graham died on March 7, 2002 of a heart attack, leaving behind a seven-year-old daughter Charlie Sue, his mother and great grandmother.